Coming off 10 days rest after defeating the Carolina Panthers in the NFL’s season opener, the Denver Broncos will host the Indianapolis Colts. This will be a familiar opponent for the Broncos, as the teams have faced each other four times in the last three seasons, including once in the playoffs.

The all-time series between the teams dates back to when the Colts played in Baltimore. The first meeting between the teams came on November 10, 1974 with the Broncos coming into Memorial Stadium and getting a 17-6 win.

Still, the Colts lead the all-time series 13-12 and have won eight of the last nine meetings between the teams. Of course, the teams will always be connected in history because of a few quarterbacks.

John Elway was originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 1983 NFL draft but long before Eli Manning refused to play in San Diego, Elway told the Colts there was no way he would play for them. As a result, Elway was traded to Denver in exchange for Chris Hinton, Mark Hermann and a 1984 first-round pick.

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Years later, the Broncos were happy to bring in Peyton Manning, arguably the best player in Colts franchise history, once the Colts released him. The Colts then used the No. 1 pick in the draft that same year to select Andrew Luck, who played at Stanford, same as Elway.

With Manning in Denver and Luck in Indianapolis, the league turned the Broncos-Colts game into a featured matchup. They played in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football in 2013 and 2014, which was the season opener.

Luck is 3-1 against Denver, including a win in the divisional round of the playoffs. However, before Manning was drafted by the Colts, it was a series that the Broncos owned. From 1974-1993, Denver won nine of the eleven games played between the teams.

However, it has been the Colts that have enjoyed all the success in the postseason. The Colts have won all three playoff games between the two teams. Two of those were Wild Card matchups against Manning. The Colts outscored Denver 90-34 in those two games.

Things will be interesting this time around as Manning will not be the quarterback for either team. That will be the first time since 1993 that the Colts and Broncos have played in which Manning didn’t suit up for one of the teams.

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Indianapolis has scored 577 points in the series, while Denver has posted 539.

In one of the most historic games between the two teams, which took place on Halloween night in 1988 on Monday Night Football, the Colts dominated the Broncos in a 55-23 win. Eric Dickerson, the player drafted right after Elway in 1983, ran for 159 yards and four touchdowns in the game. This was also the only time Elway ever lost to the Colts.

Manning was 8-2 against the Broncos when he played for the Colts and just 1-3 against the Colts when playing quarterback for the Broncos.